The present invention relates to initiating a desktop controlling session of an unattended server from a remote site.
Computer networks are an integral part of most business organizations. Each organization""s network links together computer systems that provide various enterprise functions, such as finance, accounting, payroll, sales, support, design, engineering, etc. Serversxe2x80x94network servers, file servers, print servers, or otherwisexe2x80x94are used to allocate the resources within a network. It is critical for an organization to have its servers available and running all the time. Typically, organizations invest significant resources in maintaining and supporting their servers. In some cases, the organization has an internal technical support center located on-site. However, in many cases, the organization relies on vendors to provide technical support on a need-basis. These vendors are often located off-site and do not have direct remote access to the servers for network security reasons.
Current servers provide a monitoring application that monitors the status of the server. When the monitoring application detects a potential problem, a message is sent to the vendor. The vendor dispatches technical support staff to the organization""s site to resolve the problem. This process can take several hours or more depending on the availability and location of the vendor""s technical support staff.
In general, in one aspect, the invention provides a method and a computer program product, implementing techniques for exchanging data in an unattended desktop sharing mode. The techniques include receiving a conferencing request, at a local unattended server, from a remote conferencing server; loading a desktop application on the local unattended server in response to the conferencing request to generate a loaded desktop; sending the loaded desktop to a virtual device to create a shared desktop; and sending the shared desktop to the remote conferencing server for distribution to one or more remote computers, where the shared desktop is displayed at each remote computer by a viewer application.
Embodiments may include one or more of the following features.
A user input from a remote computer can be received at the local unattended server. The user input can drive a file editing application associated with the desktop application to edit the loaded desktop based on the user input. A loaded desktop update can be received from the file editing application, the loaded desktop update occasioned by the editing of the loaded desktop. The loaded desktop update can be sent to a virtual device to create a shared desktop update. The shared desktop update can be sent to the remote conferencing server for distribution to one or more remote computers. This can result in updating the display of the shared desktop by the respective viewer applications.
A transparent overlay screen can be created, such that it appears to be displayed over the shared desktop. A user-defined object can be created at a user-specified position within the transparent overlay screen at a remote computer. Data representing the user-defined object and user-specified position can be sent from the remote computer to the remote conferencing server for distribution to one or more remote computers. This can result in the transparent overlay screen being updated to display the user-defined object at the user-specified position within the transparent overlay screen by the respective viewer applications.
The conferencing request can be generated by the remote conferencing server upon receipt of an event flag from the local unattended server. The event flag can identify an application on the local unattended server requiring external support.
Advantages that can be seen in implementations of the invention include one or more of the following. The invention enables one or more remote expert users to initiate a desktop controlling session of a local unattended server from one or more remote sites. Other advantages include the ability to launch a specific application on a local unattended server from one or more remote sites. With the present invention, it is possible for an application vendor to troubleshoot a specific application on a remote unattended server. Yet another advantage of the present invention is that it provides the ability to extend the server applications to remote users on demand. Thus, with the present invention, it is possible for a corporate user who is traveling outside the corporate network to access his or her computer desktop under certain prearranged circumstances. The corporate user could then remotely access his desktop and/or specific applications such as his email or specific documents and folders on the system without having to make, transmit, and maintain separate copies on other computers. Another advantage is that multiple users can perform these functions from separate and distinct locations. All this functionality is enabled through a simple user interface of a web browser or an application program that is easily available from any location.